Gravestone
by xPaige Turnerx
Summary: <html><head></head>Just another little one-shot for you guys while I'm between updates. :  A/B Es/C R/Em.</html>


**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything familiar.**

**Rated: T.**

**Author: Paige Turner.**

**Summary: Just another little one-shot for you guys while I'm between updates. :) A/B Es/C R/Em.**

The little town of Forks in Washington, D.C wasn't exactly the scariest place in the world. In total, it had a population of a little more than three thousand people. Everyone knew everyone else and had all been best friends since they were in diapers. And the only exciting thing that had happened since it was founded was when the mysterious, violet eyed Cullens moved there. But even that was pretty dull. They kept to themselves; went to school, work, home, etc. Never anything, other than their eyes, out of the ordinary.

However, if there was one place in Forks that would make you pause before entering, it would be the graveyard. It wasn't scary either, it was more… ominous. Especially at night. It'd give you a sense of foreboding if you ever went at night.

The whole space was grand, taking up a little more than a football field, full of gravestones, graves, paths, and the odd fountain or two. The trees there were the worst though; they were all dead it seemed, even during the summer; their bark pale and lifeless, their branches reaching out for you like the bony hands of Death watching over his victim's bodies.

That night wasn't any different. The sky was clear of clouds for once, stars shining brightly alongside the full moon, illuminating the graveyard grounds, making the trees cast angry, clawed shadows. It wasn't warm, but just cold enough for you to see your breath, leaving a thin layer of fog hovering above the ground.

A single figure stood in the entire graveyard, the only life amongst all the dead. They were distinctly feminine by the petite size and curves, standing at just barely five feet. Their hair, though mostly hidden by the hood they wore, was short as well, darker than the night sky and silky looking, brushing against a pale chin and hanging in violet eyes that were surrounded by thick black lashes. Pale fingers twisted the black rose in her hands as said violet eyes stared, unseeing, at the gravestone in front of her.

One would think she was there to mourn; given her appearance. Black, shiny combat boots, black jeans, a black hooded sweater, with a short black coat buttoned up. So yes, one would make the mistake of thinking she was mourning.

With a sigh, the girl fell to her knees in front of the gravestone, her eyes watering. With her free hand, she slowly reached out, tracing the engraved name in the stone. _Isabella Marie Swan._ "I'm so sorry, Bella." Her soft voice whispered, sounding like chimes as the wind carried it away.

Images of her and her best friend flashed before her eyes.

"_For the love of all things good and pure in this world, Alice; no more shopping today." Bella begged, slumping down onto the bench in the hall of the mall. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Shopping was a damn pain in the ass for her, she hated it with a burning passion, but Alice on the other hand loved it more than air sometimes. And since Bella could never say no to Alice, not even when they were little, she was dragged along to every shopping trip Alice went on._

_Rolling her electric blue eyes, Alice spun around on her heel, facing her exhausted friend. "Fine," She sighed, a smirk playing at her lips. "I suppose this is good for today."_

"_You suppose? Suppose? Alice, you could fill three cars with the amount of bags you have." Bella replied in disbelief._

_Shaking her head, Alice sat down next to Bella, smiling sweetly. "That's not true, Bella. We only brought one car and everything fits." She said._

_Bella snorted. "Everything but us. The passenger seat is full, Alice. It's going to be even more full after these."_

_Alice's shoulders lifted and fell in an innocent shrug. "Then I'll just have to sit in your lap while you drive." She said, winking at the taller girl._

_Bella choked on nothing, her face going red as she coughed and struggled for breath. She knew Alice was only joking around with her; Alice was a very flirty person and no one was off bounds to her, and since Bella was Bella and blushed at the drop of a hat while sputtering, she liked to tease Bella a lot. "Er, um, okay." Bella murmured quietly._

Sighing, Alice dropped her head down to stare at her lap, twisting the rose in her fingers again.

_The girls walked into the cafeteria, Alice going on and on about the pilot of a new show she watched last night. Apparently she forgot that Bella had watched it too, while the two of them spoke during commercials on the phone. It was their way of watching TV together when they couldn't get a ride to the other's house, or someone was grounded from going out. It usually being Alice whose the one that was grounded._

_Alice skipped alongside Bella, getting more and more excited as she spoke, while Bella went along the line and grabbed two of everything she wanted. Alice was too distracted to grab her own lunch. "And the it ended! Ended, Bella! Right before it said who did it! I need to watch the next episode!" Alice stated frantically, standing at the table while Bella settled in._

_Without looking up, Bella kicked out the chair next to her and Alice sat down. "Crazy, Alice. That's just crazy. Though I'm pretty sure it was the detective himself; he seemed kind of suspicious." She replied, passing Alice a bowl of salad._

_Alice's eyes widened. "No way! He did look a little suspicious, though, good point."_

_Angela, one of the girls' friends, leaned over to nudge Alice. "You know the Cullens have been staring at you for a while now, right?" She whispered._

_Both Alice and Bella looked up and across the cafeteria to where the Cullens sat in their corner. Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. They were quiet kids, didn't talk to anyone who wasn't in their family or teachers. Not really; they more just replied and responded to people than actually spoke to them. Bella kind of thought it was weird._

_A grin stretched its way across Alice's face as she waved to them, watching as everyone but Emmett looked away. The big mountain of a boy waved back, enthusiastically, making Alice giggle. "That's just their way of saying hello, I suppose." She said, going back to her conversation with Bella about the suspicious detective._

"It should have been me." Alice muttered, letting the black rose fall from her fingers. She watched as it seemingly took ages to land on the grass in front of the stone, laying there all by its lonesome.

_Angela, Bella, and Alice all laughed as the exited the movie theatre. "That was an awesome movie; totally worth driving all the way out here for." Angela said, her face red from laughing so much. The other two nodded, still laughing. "Alright, you two wait here while I got get the car."_

"_What, are you crazy, Angela? You don't walk off alone to your car here in Port Angeles; especially not at night." Bella snapped, glaring at her friend who held up her hands. "Honestly."_

"_Calm down, mom." Angela laughed, shaking her head. "I'm going to walk with the crowd, don't worry. _Everyone_ is heading off to their cars. We parked beside that family there, remember?" She asked, pointing to the family that was indeed, heading her way already._

"_We're going to start down the sidewalk." Alice said, waving her hand around, trying to dispel the smoke that filled her lungs. Why did everyone have to have a cigar _right_ outside the movie theatre after their movies?_

"_Gotcha'." Angela nodded, quickly scurrying off to catch up to the family._

_Slipping her hand into Bella's, Alice began leading the two down the sidewalk away from everyone and their smoke. "You'd think that they would walk a little ways away for everyone else, since they're the ones smoking." She muttered._

_Bella shrugged. "I'm sure if you told them about your asthma, they would have." Alice just shrugged as well and the two continued on their way while they waited for Angela._

_After another minute or two, Alice felt someone burning holes into her back with her eyes. Her grip on Bella's hand tightened as she slowed down to a stop, looking over her shoulder. Bella turned around as well, looking around. "I thought someone was watching-"_

_She spoke as she started turning back around, only to have her sentence die on her tongue as she came face to face with ruby red eyes. "Hello, Hunter." A smooth, velvety voice continued after she said nothing more. "Rather, future Hunter, it would seem."_

_Alice was frozen with fear, looking at the tall man in front of her. He was exceptionally handsome, almost to the point that it was painful to look at him; his features chiselled and strong. He had short brown hair, styled like he was about to go somewhere really nice, and a short, but thick, goatee on his chin. He was dressed rather nice as well, a black suit, wrinkle free and pristine._

_Bella got over her own shock quickly, gently tugging Alice behind her as she tried to look intimidating. "Back up." She threatened. She hoped he couldn't hear how empty that threat was, though._

_The man only grinned wider, flashing a pair of sharp looking fangs and Bella felt her heart take off, beating faster. "My, my; very spirited company you keep, Hunter."_

"_What do you want from us?" Bella demanded, silently cursing In her head as her voice shook._

_He took a step closer and Bella stood straighter, glaring at him. "Nothing from you, sweet little human. But I do require the Hunter's life, if you don't mind." Both Alice and Bella paled, scared into silence. He smiled, sniffing the air and the girls watched as his eyes darkened. "Actually, I'm feeling a little parched; perhaps I do want something from you." He said, his eyes locking onto the side of Bella's neck._

"_M-My dad is the Chief of Police in Forks." She said, her voice coming out as a whisper._

_A loud, bellowing laugh left his parted lips as he threw his head back and grabbed his stomach. Alice took the opportunity to grab Bella's hand again and started running back in the other direction. Two steps in though, and he was back in front of them, nothing more more than a blur before he stopped. An amused smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That was good, thank you."_

_Gathering her energy and anger, Bella glared once more. "You're sick!" She screamed, jerking forward and into him, making him stumble half a step from being caught off guard. However, he just chuckled again, swinging Bella around into the side of the building they were in front of. She blinked furiously, trying to clear the black spots from her vision as she pushed up off the ground, only to fall again._

_The man looked away from the dazed girl, licking his lips as the thick, sweet scent of blood filled his nose. He must have tossed her harder than he thought. It didn't matter though. He faced Alice again who was running at him with clenched fists, and grabbed her by her throat. "Not very experienced, are you, Hunter?"_

_Alice choked on her breath, her hands clawing at his that were around her neck. She violently kicked out at him, but he didn't budge. Her eyes widened as she tried to break free, feeling bruises starting to form where his fingers were._

_Once again, the man stumbled forward enough to drop Alice and snarl. Bella wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and started squeezing as hard as she could. "Go get help, Alice!" She screamed._

_With a growl, not like anything Bella had ever heard from anything but wild animals, he furiously tried to reach around and grab her, turning around and around as he did so. "I'll kill you!" He roared, finally getting a grip on her, whipping her over his shoulder._

_She landed on the road in a heap, her ribs and elbow aching. Bella wiped the crimson red from her hands and cheek, trying to focus her eyes on the man's form as he stomped over to Alice who was too busy trying to search for some sort of a weapon to notice. "Is…" She coughed. "Is that the best you've g-got?"_

_Pitch black eyes met Bella's chocolate brown ones. "I'm going to enjoy killing your friend, Hunter." He hissed, squinting as Angela's headlights bathed the street in light. Before anyone could make a move, he blurred of to the middle of the street, yanking Bella over his shoulder, and was gone in a second._

_Alice screamed, racing to the street as Angela pulled over. "Bella! No, Bella! Bring her back!" She continued screaming, frantically spinning around and around to look for them. Even when the police and ambulance finally arrived, she didn't stop screaming._

"Do I still get to make a wish even if it's my Deathday instead of my Birthday?" A smooth, bell-like voice asked, shattering the silence that had fallen over the graveyard a long while ago.

Alice didn't turn around. She took a deep breath, running her fingers along the stone once more before getting to her feet. "Carlisle knew you would come. You all do, the first year."

"Does he know why, as well? Because I sure as hell don't. It's kind of weird, you know?"

"None of this _isn't_ weird, Bella." Alice murmured, finally turning around to face the intruder. The person she _should_ be mourning, but was, in fact, hunting.

Bella looked so different and yet so similar at the same time. Her once mahogany hair now had natural streaks of dark brown and red in it, thicker, longer. Her pale skin now looked like porcelain almost it was so light. Her eyes that had been a warm chocolate brown were now a cruel, ruby red, surrounded by thick black lashes beating against high cheekbones. Even her smile was different, now with fangs and mocking. She was also dressed much the same as that man all those months ago; black dress pants, a black blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and red suspenders.

And a pair of old, beat up black converse shoes. The sight of them twisted Alice's heart, as she remembered the day she bought them for Bella. They were a bribe to get Bella to go shopping with her yet again, instead of finally agreeing and trying to go on a date with Mike.

"So you _are_ a Hunter after all." Bella mused, tapping her chin. "The eyes, they suit you, you know."

Clenching her fists in her pockets to keep from doing anything stupid, like believing for one second that this was _her_ Bella, Alice squared her shoulders and made her voice ice cold. "And you're a vampire, like Carlisle said you'd be."

Bella sighed dramatically. "Carlisle, Carlisle, Carlisle." She mocked.

Again, Alice felt the sting of tears in her eyes. _Her_ Bella would have never mocked her, even if it were appropriate. She would have just smiled warmly at Alice or even giggled. The sound used to make Alice's heart warm. Now, watching Bella regard her with those cruel eyes; Alice only felt cold. "He's a good man."

"And I'm a good girl." Bella replied, pausing as her smirk grew. "Most of the time."

Alice looked away, taking a deep breath. If she could just avoid looking at the person wearing her best friend's face(as creepy as that sounds) then she could do what she had planned on doing. Kill the vampire. But you can't just… kill vampires with a blindfold on. It took skill, luck, and…well, sight. "I'm here to kill you, you know?" She said, looking back over to the vampire.

Bella nodded, looking around the graveyard absently. "Hm? Yes, I gathered that much."

"And yet you're still here." Alice said.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Bella gestured around her. "This isn't a very lively place, is it?" A melodious laugh escaped her.

Faltering, Alice watched the vampire laugh and laugh, finding her own lame joke hilarious. It was such a Bella thing to do that Alice momentarily forgot where they were and smiled. "Your sense of humour still sucks."

Huffing, Bella crossed her arms. "Hey! It was funny! Don't you get it; _lively_ and this is a graveyard full of dead people?" She chuckled again. "Man, that was good."

"You're such a dork, Bella." Alice shook her head with a smile.

Bella's voice was in Alice's ear when she spoke next, her cool breath fanning down the smaller girl's neck even through the hood. "I'm not the one who has Star Trek marathons. _You're_ the old school dork."

Alice stepped away, glaring as she turned to look at Bella again. "Don't." She growled. Bella lifted her hands and put on an innocent face, stepping back again. "This isn't right," Alice whispered, mostly to herself. "You're not supposed to be like this. You're not supposed to be you!" She yelled.

"Who am I if I'm not me, then?" Bella asked curiously.

"A stupid, dead, monster of a vampire!" Alice ground out through clenched teeth as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair, pulling down her hood in the process.

Pursing her lips, Bella looked around her feet. "Well, I suppose I could lay down here in front of my grave and act a little more dead for you."

"Stop! You're not supposed to joke or have genuine laughter or smile warmly! It's supposed to be cold and cruel!" She seethed. This wasn't right. How was she supposed to kill this thing if it was still Bella? She couldn't. She couldn't be the cause of Bella's death again. She couldn't kill Bella again.

Watching the tears started to fall down Alice's cheeks, Bella blurred forward, ducking to look into the smaller girl's face. She gently cupped Alice's cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Hey now, none of that crying. You know I can't take it when you cry, Al."

But this only made it worse and Alice couldn't stop herself from crying out and wrapping her arms around Bella. It didn't matter that the taller girl's body was now cold and hard as marble; it was still Bella, deep down in there and Alice sobbed into her shoulder, clinging to her desperately. "I can't do it… I can't… I can't…" She cried over and over again as Bella rubbed soothing circles on her back.

They stood there like that, holding onto one another, for a length of time. Long enough that Alice's body heat had started to warm Bella up. Eventually though, Alice pulled back, wiping her tears away and cleared her throat. "Why? How are you still you?"

For a while, all Bella did was stare into Alice's violet eyes until she opened her mouth, only to close it again. She did this a few times before furrowing her brows. "I… I'm different." She settled for that, since it was all she _could_ say. Who knew why she was different? She didn't. None of the others back in Volterra did. Even Aro didn't, and he knew a lot. "I just… I'm me sometimes. I feel like me sometimes. It's usually for only brief moments before I lose myself again in this… vampire."

Alice looked confused. "It's been more than a few brief moments, Bella. Way more. Why?"

Pulling back to look down into Alice's face, Bella gave the shorter girl a look. "I thought that was pretty obvious." She stated, like Alice was missing something. When Alice still didn't get it, she huffed. "This wasn't exactly how I was planning on telling you…" She muttered darkly, quickly shaking it off again. With a nervous smile, she gripped Alice's hand and pressed the warm palm to her chest.

"I still don't understand, what-" Alice began but Bella cut her off.

"Shhh… Listen. Feel." The taller girl murmured quietly. A few seconds passed by before Alice's eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up. A weak, unsteady, and incredibly slow heartbeat could be felt, just barely under her palm. If a body, not a voice, could whisper, Alice imagined that this is what it would sound like. She looked up into Bella's red eyes that looked so nervous she could almost see the brown, human ones. "You make it beat." She said, even quieter than before. "You make me live. You make me good. You make me feel." She paused, knowing she would be blushing if she could. "Even when I was still human."

"How romantic." A sarcastic, venomous voice spat.

With a snarl, Bella whirled around, crouching down low in front of Alice protectively. "James." She hissed.

A tall blonde man was leaning against one of the taller, cross gravestones. His hair was in a pony, hanging low down his bare back, his jeans torn at the knees and dirty, his boots worn. His eyes were like Bella's, but different. Even colder. More cruel. And amused. "Hello to you too, Bella." He said with a chuckle. "I would have thought you'd be touched that Aro was so concerned about you that he hired me to keep tabs."

Alice reached behind her, to the gun in the waistband of her pants under her coat. Her eyes stayed trained on the blonde vampire as she watched him converse with Bella. She wasn't sure how fast he was, but she was going to have to be faster to get a shot off at him. She should have brought more than the one pistol. In all fairness though, she thought it would only be Bella there.

"Go back to Volterra and tell Aro I'm dead if you know what's good for you." Bella threatened. This was no empty threat anymore.

James chuckled again, the sound hallow and wrong coming from his mouth, like most vampires. "I _could_ do that, but we both know it wouldn't fool that old man. One touch and he'd know I was lying, and have me killed."

"If you don't leave, I'm going to make you wish I _had_ just killed you." She growled, clenching her fists.

Alice's hand whipped up, a sleek black pistol in it as a bullet ripped from it. James spun away just in time, watching the tree behind him and the cross gravestone go up in flame. His eyes faded to a black as he glared at the two. "Hunter-bitch." He snarled.

Faster than the bullet, Bella shot off towards him, tackling James to the ground. She cupped her fist with her other hand and brought them both down on his chest as hard as she could, smiling a twisted smile as she heard a crack. James hissed, shoving her off of him and into the gravestone he had been leaning against. It crumbled on impact and Bella got back up, shooting off after him again, leaving the dust and debris in her wake.

Cursing under her breath, Alice grabbed the silver phone from her pocket. Yes, she was a Hunter, which meant she was faster, stronger, _better_ than humans. But she didn't want to risk hitting Bella instead, so it was best to call in Emmett who wouldn't need a gun.

"_Heya, Ali-Cat. How'd it go with your old friend?"_ Emmett's voice was still booming, even on the phone.

"I need help." She said quickly, snapping the phone shut and took another shot.

Both Bella and James ducked as the whizzing, explosive bullet passed over them. Bella snarled and thrust her fist up into James's face, knocking him on his back with the force. She slammed her foot into his side and he went flying, smashing through a gravestone. "Give up?" She called.

She jerked forward, nearly tumbling to the floor as someone landed on her back, wrapping their arms and legs around her. "Not even close." A new voice purred in her ear. Rough and scratchy, but feminine and one she had heard before. Victoria laughed, using one hand to grip under Bella's chin and jerk her face up while the other slammed down on her now even more vulnerable chest.

Bella grimaced, feeling the cracks spider web across her chest. The wind was knocked from her as James's shoulder connected with her gut and they all flew back onto the ground. He started raining punches down on her torso and sides while Victoria kept her still. Bella kicked at the ground and scratched at whatever she could, trying to roll over, do _something_ to stop them.

As hard as she could, Alice slammed her own foot into James's side, sending him off of Bella. She took aim at him once again, but the gun was knocked from her hand as Victoria kicked up. Because of it, Bella was able to twist and get out of her grab, blurring to her feet. Victoria growled at them, charging but stopped short suddenly. With another hiss, she blurred over to James and the two raced off.

"Cowards!" A booming voice hollered after them.

Once again, Bella was tackled to the ground. A large hand pushed her face into the ground, pressing the end of the barrel of a gun to the back of her head as he straddled her back. A growl rumbled in her chest, but she did nothing more.

"Edward, get off of her!" Alice yelled, annoyed as she pulled him off of Bella.

The tall, bronze haired boy looked confused. His violet eyes met Carlisle's in question as he straightened out his clothes and ran a hand through his hair. "Alice, that's a vampire."

"I have _eyes_, Edward." Alice replied, glaring at him as she helped Bella to her feet. "This… this is Bella."

His brows furrowed as he frowned at her. "You were supposed to kill her." He snapped.

"Nice to meet you too." Bella said sarcastically, her voice cold as she glared at the Hunter.

"Was I talking to you, leech?" He said, with his own glare.

Bella made to move forward but Alice grabbed her arm and she settled. Slightly. Carlisle watched all of this with intrigue. The newborn wasn't on a rampage, killing everything in sight, even when provoked. He watched as she looked down at Alice, her glare smoothing out and fading away as a warmth entered her eyes. His own widened. "Not possible…" He whispered to himself, not startled when those red eyes met his. Of course she would hear him. "I… I don't even know what to say."

Alice intertwined her fingers with Bella's, stepping passed Edward who glared when Bella smirked at him. "She's different, Carlisle. She's not like them. She-She's still Bella, and I can't kill her and I won't let you and just give her a chance, I won't lose her again, she's not like the rest of them, she saved me from James when she could have just went back with him-" Alice frantically grabbed Carlisle's hand and put it over Bella's heart. "See?"

Bella growled again, stiffening until Carlisle removed his hand. "This isn't possible." He murmured again.

"So you've sad." Bella scowled.

Alice narrowed her eyes as she looked up at the taller brunette. "Bella, be nice." She reprimanded.

Sighing, Bella lost the scowl, shifting closer to Alice. "Fine. So you've said." She repeated her earlier words in a false, but friendlier manner.

The big bear of a man had an amused look on his face, his violet eyes twinkling. "I like her."

"Have you forgotten that she's a bloodsucker?" Edward snapped. "That she shouldn't be standing right now? She needs to die, Alice. You can't keep her as a pet."

Bella's lip curled back over her fangs in a snarl as she glared at him. "I _am_ dead. And if you don't shut up, I'll make you dead too."

Clenching his fists and jaw, Edward turned to Carlisle, barely keeping his cool. "Surely you can't be toying with the idea of bringing her home, Carlisle. She's a vampire. We _hunt_ vampires to _kill_. Have you all so suddenly forgotten that just because Alice asks you to?" Edward looked around at all his family in disbelief. "This is a_ vampire_ - the same thing that killed your family, Emmett. Do you still like her?"

Jasper, another one of Carlisle and Esme's 'sons' stepped forward. His blonde hair was wavy/curly, a mix of gold and honey, hanging in his violet eyes that were narrowed. "Enough, Edward. Have you let your hate of them twist you so much that you would actually hurt Emmett to provoke him and get him on your side? Do not bring up past scars to get what you want." He growled.

"Then tell her to stop batting her eyelashes and playing everyone's heart strings like a violin to get what _she_ wants!" He said, his finger shooting up to point at Alice. Bella tensed, wanting nothing more than to rip the thing off his hand, but Alice rubbed the back of her hand with her thumb, calming her down. "And you. You think this _thing_ feels anything for you? You think she _can_? This is just some cold, calculating ploy to lower everyone's guard so she can strike when we're not ready. This is all some elaborate plan she made up with Aro to finish us all off."

"Can you read that? Do you know for sure, Edward? Do you see it in her head?" Alice spat, walking over to stand in front of him. She was a little too short to get in his face, per say, so this would have to do. Edward faltered, shaking his head and going to say something. "You yourself say that vampires aren't the people they once were; that it is impossible for them to be." She jabbed her finger into his chest. "This is Bella! This is the same Bella from before! This is _my_ Bella, with a _heartbeat_ who still cares about me."

Esme, a woman with a kind, loving face and long caramel hair, walked over to the two. She placed her hand on Edward's shoulder, smiling sympathetically. "Edward, why don't you get a head start on the way back to the mansion. Rosalie and Emmett will come with you and I want you to try and calm down."

A great sigh escaped from Edward as his shoulders sagged, nodding. "Yes, Esme." He muttered, glaring at the two girls once more before leaving with Rosalie, the last blonde of the Cullen family, and Emmett.

When Esme turned to the girls, Alice was clutching at Bella's arm, her eyes pleading with the older woman. "I won't leave her, not again, and I don't want to leave any of you either."

Esme nodded, smiling reassuringly at Alice. "Don't worry dear, we'll work something out." She said, looking over to Carlisle who pursed his lips.

"We could have a trial." Jasper said, gaining all of their attention. "She can be supervised and we'll all be on guard for the first year. Then after that, if nothing has changed, we know we can trust her."

Alice groaned. "A year?" Jasper gave her a look and she held up her free hand. "Alright, alright. I just don't like it; that's all."

"I agree. If this is what it takes to prove myself to you, I will do it. I _will_ be with Alice until she sends me away, but I don't want to have to take her from you in the process." Bella said, looking to Carlisle. He regarded her curiously for a minute before nodding and held out his hand. Her cold one gripped his in a handshake and it was sealed. Alice volunteered to driver Bella back in the car she brought while the others went in Carlisle's. It was silent, both girls reflecting on the night's events, until they stopped at a red light. Bella smiled, turning to look at Alice who could feel her stare and smiled herself. "So, you never really commented on what I said before James and Victoria showed up."

"Oh? I didn't?" Alice asked, blinking innocently at Bella who narrowed her eyes, though her smile widened.

"It must have slipped your mind." She said.

Alice laughed, letting the comfortable silence after that settle over them for a few seconds. Her face turned serious as she looked at the taller girl in the passenger seat beside her. "I love you, Bella. I always have. You just used to get so nervous around me all the time, I didn't want to scare you off. Now I know why you were so nervous." She grinned.

Scratching the back of her neck, Bella nodded and cleared her throat. "Yes, well, er, yeah."

Alice giggled. "Still have a way with words, do you?"

"Your mom has a way with words…" Bella muttered, ignoring Alice laughing at her the entire way back.

**XXxxXXxxXX**

**So, that was a weak end. My apologies.**

**And this was just a short little one shot I felt like writing during school. In the future, I may or may not continue and make it into a longer one. I've got quite a few to finish before then, though. ^^**

**REVIEW please?**

**-Paige.**


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